Been out of keyboards for awhile. What's the state of the game?

[vivalarevolución]

So what's hot these days?

Is deskthority still the place to be and has not been tranformed into an extension of reddit?

Are Model Fs and beamsprings still the cream of the crop?

Are there any new Topre keyboards I should try?

[green-squid]

So what's hot these days?

Same things, probably.

Is deskthority still the place to be and has not been tranformed into an extension of reddit?

Absolutely.

Are Model Fs and beamsprings still the cream of the crop?

yeah, for better or worse (beamer prices are completely unreasonable)

[vivalarevolución]

What's the latest on beam spring prices? I saw a Cyrillic one on Ebay for over $2,000. Either the dollar has lost value or prices are off the charts.

[green-squid]

What's the latest on beam spring prices? I saw a Cyrillic one on Ebay for over $2,000. Either the dollar has lost value or prices are off the charts.

$800 - and up

[vivalarevolución]

Good lord. Maybe I won't bring mine to a meetup, I don't want them to disappear.

[ramnes]

You should try BKE domes, bud.

[vivalarevolución]

You should try BKE domes, bud.

Are these vintage or new replacement domes?

[depletedvespene]

So what's hot these days?

The usual.

Is deskthority still the place to be and has not been tranformed into an extension of reddit?

No. This in spite of a certain newcomer that doesn't understand minimal concepts of proper behaviour in an online forum.

And reddit keeps, somehow, getting worse.

Are Model Fs and beamsprings still the cream of the crop?

Why, yes. And inflated market prices are still a pest.

Are there any new Topre keyboards I should try?

Of course not. BUT I did score a Wyse keyboard for very little money that chyros' tells us that's similar enough to Topre to get a feeling if one would like it. So I'll soon get a better idea of how much to dispise Topre.

[green-squid]

Is deskthority still the place to be and has not been tranformed into an extension of reddit?

No. This in spite of a certain newcomer that doesn't understand minimal concepts of proper behaviour in an online forum.

What? I single-handedly ruined this forum?

I have changed now! I'm not like how I used to be.

[kbdfr]

[…] a certain newcomer that doesn't understand minimal concepts of proper behaviour in an online forum.

What? I single-handedly ruined this forum?

I have changed now! I'm not like how I used to be.

Don't worry, someone else was meant: product-news-f44/keyboard-project-with- ... 18934.html
You're fully OK, and even in your worst times you did not even come near the nuisance that guy was (or perhaps still is )

[vivalarevolución]

Lol, I looked up recent beam spring selling prices here and on Ebay. They are going for at least 3 times what I paid whenever I got mine. And when I bought mine, they were in possession of the seller for quite some time before they sold it to me. Serious interest was light.

I think what we need to do is start spamming that beam springs layouts are unusable for daily keyboard usage to help tamper demand (because they kind of are). Sort of like the Model F XT. That should tamp down prices a bit.

So beam springs are unusable for daily usage because of the wonky layouts. Don't buy them, they suck.

[Blaise170]

I've never had an issue with you green-squid, just sometimes you get a bit too... excited.

As to the original topic, DT is still pretty much the same place as ever, some of the old timers have disappeared but I'm sure they are still around (incidentally, you were one of them). I came back after a two year hiatus. There are some new clones out that actually attempt to improve on the Cherry design such as Kailh Box switches. Geekhack is pretty much overrun with group buys and interest checks, I hardly ever see any real discussion there. Reddit is now the definition of a meme, people literally find boards with 20 artisans on them attractive and fun to type on.

So beam springs are unusable for daily usage because of the wonky layouts. Don't buy them, they suck.

People already say that but it seems there has been an influx in people with more money than sense into the hobby as of late.

[seebart]

So what's hot these days?

Whatever you like.

Is deskthority still the place to be and has not been tranformed into an extension of reddit?

Won't happen although DT is not a club anymore.

Are Model Fs and beamsprings still the cream of the crop?

In the world of vintage IBM boards yes.

Are there any new Topre keyboards I should try?

I believe there are chinese Topre clones now that are worth trying.

[vivalarevolución]

I've never had an issue with you green-squid, just sometimes you get a bit too... excited.

As to the original topic, DT is still pretty much the same place as ever, some of the old timers have disappeared but I'm sure they are still around (incidentally, you were one of them). I came back after a two year hiatus. There are some new clones out that actually attempt to improve on the Cherry design such as Kailh Box switches. Geekhack is pretty much overrun with group buys and interest checks, I hardly ever see any real discussion there. Reddit is now the definition of a meme, people literally find boards with 20 artisans on them attractive and fun to type on.

So beam springs are unusable for daily usage because of the wonky layouts. Don't buy them, they suck.

People already say that but it seems there has been an influx in people with more money than sense into the hobby as of late.

Well, I might stick around for awhile, because other parts of the Internet that I visited in the meantime were overrun by low quality, spammy posts or rampant racism/bigotry/what-have-you. I forgot how how pleasant and chummy it is around here, even if there are occasional dust ups.

[Blaise170]

Ha speaking of dust ups, you missed a hilarious one last night from a newcomer.

[codemonkeymike]

If you skip out on "off-topic" and "marketplace" there are esentially no dust ups. That being said, I think you missed out on the rise in price of Brown Alps and White Alps, both of which have gone threw the roof. Brown Alps being the new(ish) hotness, and White Alps as a resonable replacement for those who can't afford Blue Alps.

[Blaise170]

Blue Alps have actually stabilized in price, they aren't (much) higher than when I left in 2016. The real rise in price came 2015 and into 2016 where they went from around $50/keyboard to around $150/keyboard. I can find them pretty readily at those prices.

[vivalarevolución]

If you skip out on "off-topic" and "marketplace" there are esentially no dust ups. That being said, I think you missed out on the rise in price of Brown Alps and White Alps, both of which have gone threw the roof. Brown Alps being the new(ish) hotness, and White Alps as a resonable replacement for those who can't afford Blue Alps.

Do people know that Matias switches are superior to White and Brown Alps? I never found anything particularly special about those. Blue Alps is pretty unique, though.

[mike52787]

Is deskthority still the place to be and has not been tranformed into an extension of reddit?

No. This in spite of a certain newcomer that doesn't understand minimal concepts of proper behaviour in an online forum.

What? I single-handedly ruined this forum?

I have changed now! I'm not like how I used to be.

Not you, that other dude. you're just too energetic for some people here

[codemonkeymike]

If you skip out on "off-topic" and "marketplace" there are esentially no dust ups. That being said, I think you missed out on the rise in price of Brown Alps and White Alps, both of which have gone threw the roof. Brown Alps being the new(ish) hotness, and White Alps as a resonable replacement for those who can't afford Blue Alps.

Do people know that Matias switches are superior to White and Brown Alps? I never found anything particularly special about those. Blue Alps is pretty unique, though.

Matias Clickys sound wise are for sure worse then White Alps. Feel wise its in the eye of the beholder, personally I would prefer new Matias Clicky over lightly used White Alps. If I could get fair priced NOS White Alps then I would prefer them. Brown Alps are a whole different animal, more comparable to Halo/Hako switches. The Brown Alps are leaps better then Halo/Hako switches.

[vivalarevolución]

If you skip out on "off-topic" and "marketplace" there are esentially no dust ups. That being said, I think you missed out on the rise in price of Brown Alps and White Alps, both of which have gone threw the roof. Brown Alps being the new(ish) hotness, and White Alps as a resonable replacement for those who can't afford Blue Alps.

Do people know that Matias switches are superior to White and Brown Alps? I never found anything particularly special about those. Blue Alps is pretty unique, though.

Matias Clickys sound wise are for sure worse then White Alps. Feel wise its in the eye of the beholder, personally I would prefer new Matias Clicky over lightly used White Alps. If I could get fair priced NOS White Alps then I would prefer them. Brown Alps are a whole different animal, more comparable to Halo/Hako switches. The Brown Alps are leaps better then Halo/Hako switches.

To each their own. I'm out of the Alps game, anyways, as I prefer IBM for my clicky experience and Topre for my non-clicky tactile experience.

[mike52787]

Do people know that Matias switches are superior to White and Brown Alps? I never found anything particularly special about those. Blue Alps is pretty unique, though.

hahahaha

I see someone has never used good condition brown/white alps

[Menuhin]

Been out of keyboards for awhile. What's the state of the game?

I have the same answer basically any time you ask this answer:
Pull (yourself) out before it is too late.

By the way, perhaps they are not "hot", no one has yet mentioned the re-tooled Cherry blacks and the new Kailh box switches.
I admit they are not Kobe beef or high grade Yagyu or carefully dry-aged beef, but they can be one's reliable staples foods with least invested time/effort and money.

If you are a hunter for relics and/or a flipper, those are in the "hall of fame" are still sought after as always.

[Blaise170]

By the way, perhaps they are not "hot", no one has yet mentioned the re-tooled Cherry blacks and the new Kailh box switches.

There are some new clones out that actually attempt to improve on the Cherry design such as Kailh Box switches.

[Menuhin]

By the way, perhaps they are not "hot", no one has yet mentioned the re-tooled Cherry blacks and the new Kailh box switches.

There are some new clones out that actually attempt to improve on the Cherry design such as Kailh Box switches.

Another instance to support that I'm a bit dyslexic.

[vivalarevolución]

Do people know that Matias switches are superior to White and Brown Alps? I never found anything particularly special about those. Blue Alps is pretty unique, though.

hahahaha

I see someone has never used good condition brown/white alps

That's entirely possible. I do recall that Brown Alps were nice, but White Alps never seemed very special to me.

[mike52787]

Do people know that Matias switches are superior to White and Brown Alps? I never found anything particularly special about those. Blue Alps is pretty unique, though.

hahahaha

I see someone has never used good condition brown/white alps

That's entirely possible. I do recall that Brown Alps were nice, but White Alps never seemed very special to me.

Yeah, white alps are nothing special, but I would give the nod to them above matias click. Although after recently getting my "endgame" blue alps board (LE DC-3014) I have pretty much stopped paying attention to clicky alps.

Personally I think matias quiet click are quite horrible, on par with cream dampened/bamboo black alps. The three first gen tactile alps (Orange Cream and Brown) cannot be beat in my opinion. I do however love topre and ergo clears as well, really it's a different ball game though.

[Menuhin]

hahahaha

I see someone has never used good condition brown/white alps

That's entirely possible. I do recall that Brown Alps were nice, but White Alps never seemed very special to me.

Yeah, white alps are nothing special, but I would give the nod to them above matias click. Although after recently getting my "endgame" blue alps board (LE DC-3014) I have pretty much stopped paying attention to clicky alps.

Personally I think matias quiet click are quite horrible, on par with cream dampened/bamboo black alps. The three first gen tactile alps (Orange Cream and Brown) cannot be beat in my opinion. I do however love topre and ergo clears as well, really it's a different ball game though.

This thread is quickly dominated by the Alps guys - who indeed have lots to discuss because of the versions and history of Alps switches. To be fair, black pines are not that common and they are nice; the early dampened Alps - cream dampened pines are also better than the dampened bamboos.

I'm keen to perform some testing on how accurate one can tell what the switches are, e.g. while blind-folded or while the PCB, plate, and case are kept constant. It can be like blind-folded typing for 3 minutes on an unknown keyboard, and then said, "top-mounted, PBT caps, lubed nixies". And ended up - totally miraculously correct.

[Blaise170]

I think DT has more of a leaning towards Alps since they are no longer produced and this forum is much more receptive to the vintage stuff. People (especially on Reddit) tend to scoff at Alps stuff unless you've completely rebuilt it into a modern chassis.

[Wodan]

I've always considered DT to be pretty balanced when it came to switches. The second most active thread on DT is about MX compatible keycaps ...

Then there's also the very strong IBM fraction ...

And I am sure some Hi-Tek pervs can be found around here as well.